Chapter 9: Universe Hangs In The Balance

'The team is on the clock to exit from Sector, but have to get passed a transformed Hacker first before they can. Will they make it out before time is up?'

Sector

Five minutes have passed and the mouth of the vortex has gotten a bit smaller.

"If that monster is hacker then…" Inez begins.

"That means he used the transformatron." Matt finishes Inez's sentence. "But how? He doesn't have the NIC."

"How are we supposed to defeat him now?" Jackie asks in a panic. "And like that?"

"Sam is there any place on this site that we can use that will help us defeat hacker in this form?" Inez asks, now turning to Sam.

"There isn't such a place." Sam answers. "Sorry Inez."

"Great, just great!" Matt says with frustration. "Now what are we going to do? There is no way we can fight him in this form!"

"I'll tell you what you're going to do and that's beg for mercy!" Hacker yells. "Starting now!"

Bringing up his right claw, he brings it down hard as it impacts the ground and knocks everyone off their feet.

"I hate to say this, but it looks like hacker is going to win this time." Jackie says with worry.

"Don't say that Jackie!" Matt argues, not taking his eyes off Hacker. "Hacker has never won and he won't start now, not even in this form!"

Hacker now turns to Jackie and narrows his reptile eyes at her.

"You better listen to your little friend here." Hacker says as he raises his right claw. "You're a smart little girl, but too bad you won't be around long enough for anyone to know just how smart you really are!"

Hacker begins bringing his right claw down with Jackie right in its direct path. Matt quickly turns to Jackie, who appears to be frozen from fear and is in immediate danger. With Hacker continuing to bring his claw down, Matt lunges towards Jackie and gets her out of the way just in time, with him escaping danger himself. Hacker's claw now impacts the ground where Jackie was, creating a crater in that space.

"Jackie, are you ok?" Matt asks as he helps Jackie to her feet.

"Yeah." Jackie answers. "I don't know what happened to me. I just froze."

"It's ok Jackie." Matt says with comfort. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Matt, I'm scared." Jackie says, still in her shaken state. "We've never dealt with Hacker like this before. What if he does win and we are stuck here forever? We won't see our families or anyone ever again. I don't want that to happen."

"And it won't happen." Matt continues. "Don't forget, we are the cybersquad, we are the defenders of Cyberspace. We keep bad guys like Hacker from winning. We are going to make it out of here with Inez and return to Control Central."

"You're absolutely right Matt." Jackie agrees, trying to overcome her fear. "I just let all of this get to me. I just can't stand the thought of being here forever."

"It's ok Jax and neither can I." Matt says with a small smile. "Let's defeat Hacker and get out of here."

"Let's do it!" Jackie says with a nod.

An ear piercing scream now rips through the area that immediately gets Matt and Jackie's attention. They notice that Hacker has grabbed Inez and has her tightly gripped in his right claw.

"INEZ!" Matt and Jackie yell in unison.

"Put me down Hacker!" Inez yells as she struggles to get free. "Put me down right now!"

"I have had enough of all of you!" Hacker growls as he brings Inez into his view. "Especially you! This is all because of you! This ends here!"

"Put Inez down now Hacker!" Sam demands. "If it's anyone you should attack, it should be me! I'm the one you want, leave Inez out of this!"

"Oh don't worry your highness!" Hacker replies. "You will be next, right after I take care of this one!"

Having Inez is in grip, Hacker tightens his grip around her, which causes her to cry out. Continuing to tighten his grip on Inez, Hacker's right claw is suddenly hit with a laser, which loosens his grip on Inez a bit.

"Put her down now or next time I'm aiming for the face!" A voice similar to Inez's, commands.

"Who said that?" Hacker sneers, looking around for the source of the voice.

"I said that!" The voice replies as its owner is now revealed.

A five foot tall female that is wearing a white vest, blue shirt with a white star in the middle, a white skirt and white boots and that resembles Inez exactly, only 3 years older steps into view. She is also wielding an advance laser assault weapon and has a blue tote bag on her right shoulder. Everyone turns to her and gasps.

"I said put her down now or do I have to get you between the eyes?!" The young woman demands.

"She looks just like me." Inez says, eyeing the young woman.

"Is it me or does she look exactly like Inez?" Matt asks in confusion.

"She does look like Inez." Jackie answers. "An exact copy, but how?"

"You want me to put this earth brat down?" Hacker challenges with a grin. "You're going to have to make me!"

"Just remember you asked for this!" The woman replies.

Aiming her laser gun at Hacker's right claw, she now pulls the trigger. The laser impacts his claw, forcing it open and releasing Inez. Inez is caught by Sam.

"Nice catch Sam." Inez thanks him as she is gently put on her feet.

"Thank you." Sam replies.

Matt, Jackie and the young woman make their way over to Sam and Inez.

"Are you alright Inez?" The young woman asks.

"I'm fine thanks to you." Inez answers. "How do you know my name exactly?"

"Because I'm you from the future." The woman answers. "I was sent here to help you guys defeat hacker."

"You're from the future?" Inez inquires. "How can I be sure that you are telling the truth?"

"In kindergarten during nap time, when all the other kids were asleep, it was you who took Matt's block set because he refused to share it with you during playtime." Future Inez reveals.

"Hey! No wonder I couldn't find my blocks when I woke up because you took them!" Matt speaks up. "I thought that kid Kenney took them!"

"Ok, so you are from the future because only I, I mean we, would know that." Inez quickly speaks up, gaining an embarrassing smile. "Now how are we going to stop Hacker in this form? We've never fought him like this."

"I have a plan, but we have to get into the wreaker to disrupt the transformatron first." Future Inez replies.

"Me, Sam and Matt will keep green and ugly here busy while you two get into the wreaker and shut that thing down." Jackie says.

"Good Luck Inez." Sam wishes to her as he embraces Inez in a hug.

"Thanks Sam." Inez replies.

"Hey, only I wish MY friends good luck." Matt says to Sam with extreme jealousy.

"I promise to be careful Matt." Inez says as she hugs Matt.

Matt grins at Sam.

"Come on, there isn't much time." Future Inez warns.

"You'll never get passed me!" Hacker yells, eyeing the two Inez's.

"Hey green and ugly, over here!" Jackie yells. "Now I can see why Wicked Witched dumped you for prince charming!"

Hacker now turns to Jackie with a growl, taking his attention away from both Inez's. With the heat off of them, the two begins making their way towards the wreaker.

Control Central

Digit, Dr. Marbles and Motherboard notices that the opening of the vortex has gotten a bit smaller. They all turn to the clock on the main computer, noticing that the seconds are rapidly counting down, now giving the kids only thirty minutes to make it back from the other side. Digit can feel himself going into a panic.

"Hurry up kids." Digit begins panicking. "You don't have that much time left before the vortex closes for good."

"Dr, are you sure you can't keep the vortex open longer?" Motherboard inquires.

"Sorry Motherboard, I can't." Dr. Marbles answers. "Due to the amount of power the UVO has, it'll take months to even years to recharge it once its power has been drained."

"But there has got to be something you can do doc." Digit says, still in a panic.

"Everyone please calm down." Dr. Marbles says. "Before a backup plan needs to be made, let's just hope the kids make it back before time is up. I have faith in knowing they will."

"I sure hope you're right doc." Digit replies, keeping his eye on the vortex.

Sector

Future Inez and Inez have reached the wreaker and now boards the ship. Now being on the ship, the two immediately notice a transformed Delete and Buzz standing in front of the transformatron. Delete has been transformed into a ware rabbit and Buzz has been turned into an oversized moldy donut.

"Hacker wasn't the only one who used the transformatron." Inez panics.

"Don't worry, I have it covered." Future Inez says to her present self.

Reaching into her vest pocket, Future Inez pulls out a small device. Pressing the button in the center, the device quickly changes into a pink rabbit.

Delete's frown immediately changes to a wide smile upon seeing the pink rabbit.

"A BUNNY!" Delete happily shouts in his monstrous tone.

The bunny hops out of Future Inez's hands and continues hopping away with a very excited Delete chasing after it. That just leaves them to deal with Buzz.

Future Inez now reaches into her bag and pulls out two chocolate crispy cream donuts.

"Oh darn." Future Inez playfully pouts. "I'm too full from lunch to eat these and they are my favorite too. Whatever will I do with them?"

Buzz eyes the donuts as his mouth immediately begins to water.

"ME! ME!" Buzz begs. "I love chocolate crispy cream donuts! They are my favorite!"

Grinning, Future Inez throws them with Buzz sparing no time to chase after them. Both henchmen are now out of sight and away from the transformatron.

"That should keep them busy for a while." Future Inez says as she walks over to the transformatron and looks it over. Continuing to look the machine over, Future Inez now spots a small amount of the silver substance in the canister that is linked to the transformatron. Eyeing the substance closely, she immediately recognizes what is sitting in there.

"Yep, just as I suspected." Future Inez says.

"What did you suspect?" Inez asks.

"Uranium." Future Inez answers, keeping her attention on the canister. "Hacker used Uranium to transform himself and his two henchmen. He doesn't have the NIC, but because the NIC has the same chemical properties as Uranium and both can be used for the same purpose, he substituted the NIC with Uranium."

"Uranium is highly unstable and very radioactive." Inez replies. "He's looking to kill himself and because he's a cyborg, looking to severely overload his circuits."

"All hacker cares about is power and he got it no matter what the risks are for having it." Future Inez says, now reaching into her bag. "However, I do have something that will counter this power trip he's on. Bromine Hydroxide will surely bring him back to reality."

"What will that do?" Inez questions.

"Bromine Hydroxide, when mixed with uranium or any other radioactive element, will have a very explosive result." Future Inez explains. "The chemical properties of the bromine will react with the atoms in uranium, thus turning it into one big firework display." (I did an experiment on this in chem lab and it's the truth.)

"I am so awesome in the future!" Inez cheers to herself.

Unscrewing the lid to the canister, Future Inez pours the liquid into the canister on top of the small amount of uranium, causing the combined substances to change to a turquoise and purple color. The bromide hydroxide along with the small amount of uranium is now sucked into the main mechanism of the transformatron.

"It shouldn't take long for the chemicals to react and for the reverse effects to kick in." Future Inez says as she turns to her younger self. "Come on, let's go help the others."

Both Inez's begin making their way out of the wreaker. Reaching the exit, both girls exit the wreaker with present Inez noticing the status of the vortex.

"There isn't much time left!" Inez panics. "The vortex is halfway closed!"

"You have plenty of time." Future Inez calmly replies. "Trust me."

Hacker now swings his left claw towards the Jackie, Matt, and Sam with them scattering to get out of the way.

"What's the matter Hacker? Don't have good aim?" Matt taunts. "I thought evil geniuses never miss their target! I guess you're not that big of a genius after all!"

Hearing Matt's taunt, Hacker focuses his attention on him and narrows his eyes at him.

"You will pay for that you filthy brat!" Hacker growls.

Raising his right foot up, Hacker is about to bring it down when his foot is suddenly stopped in midair. Noticing this, Hacker is continuing to try to bring his foot down on Matt, but finds out that he can't.

"What is going on and why can't I grind you into dust?" Hacker yells, becoming frustrated.

Inside the wreaker, the transformatron has begun sparking out of control and the Bromine Hydroxide mixed with the uranium that has been pulled into the machine's main mechanism has leaked over into the electric eel of aquariyum's tank, causing it to halt on its power surging. The eel comes to a stand still as the machine continues sparking out of control. With one final spark, the transformatron blows a fuse, causing it shut down completely.

The glass compartment where the transforming occurs now blows to pieces, leaving scattered glass all over the area. With the transformatron out of commission, Buzz and Delete now change back to themselves. Taking notice of their sudden change, Buzz and Delete turn to each other.

"Hey, what happened?" Delete asks, still holding on to the bunny. "We're ourselves again."

"I'm without a clue dee dee." Buzz answers.

The bunny that Delete is holding on to, now changes back into the device in which it was created from.

"Hey, my bunny is gone too!" Delete says.

"At least I still have my donuts." Buzz says, continuing to eat the chocolate crispy creams.

Outside the wreaker, Hacker still can't bring his foot down on Matt, but begins feeling his transformed state beginning to wear off.

"Future Inez and Inez did it!" Jackie cheers. "They shut down the transformatron because Hacker can't move a muscle!"

Everyone begins to notice that Hacker's transformed state is wearing off. His claws now change back to his normal hands along with his feet changing back to normal. His overall lizard transformation disappears, transforming back to normal. Noticing his sudden change back to himself, Hacker begins to frantically look himself over.

"What happened?!?" Hacker frantically asks, continuing to look himself over. "I was big, I was powerful, but now I am back to just me. What happened to all of my power?!?"

"I am what happened to your power." Future Inez firmly answers as she and Inez join the others. "I suggest before you are spending the rest of your life here, you make an exit and fast or then again, maybe you being stuck here won't be so bad after all."

Hearing who answered him, Hacker looks ahead of him and notices that there are two Inez's. Hacker looks between the two, noticing that one is older than the other.

"There are two of you?" Hacker asks, continuing to look between the two girls. "I may have lost my power, but I haven't lost my mind."

"Welcome back to reality Hacker." Inez says with a grin. "Sucks doesn't it?"

Hacker releases a fierce growl as he looks between the two Inez's and then to Matt, Jackie and Sam.

"I will see to it personally that all of you pay for this!" Hacker hisses as he points at the kids. "Especially you your highness! I will be back! Count on it!"

Storming off, Hacker begins making his way into the wreaker. Boarding the vehicle, Hacker immediately makes his way to the main control room and notices that his transformatron is in pieces. His eyes widen as he falls to his knees.

"My transformatron…." Hacker stammers, not believing that his one and only true invention is wrecked. "Its…its….IN RUINS!"

Hacker's disbelief quickly changes to anger with his temper rising.

"They will pay for this!" Hacker growls. "THEY WILL ULTIMATELY PAY FOR THIS!"

The bridge of the wreaker is now drawn up and the hatch closes with the wreaker lifting off the ground. The vessel now flies off, immediately disappearing from sight.

"I am so glad that is finally over." Matt says, sighing in relief.

"Agreed." Jackie agrees. "Now we can finally get off of this site."

"Thanks future me." Inez thanks her future self, now turning to her. "If it weren't for you, we would still be dealing with Hacker right now with no clue on how to defeat him. How did you know where to find us anyway?"

"Motherboard informed the squad of an impending tragedy here on this timeline and I came here to intercept it." Future Inez explained. "If something were to happen to any of you here, me, along with Matt and Jackie, wouldn't exist in my time line."

"There is a future me?" Jackie asks in excitement. "What am I like in the future?"

"Probably an even bigger prima donna." Matt cracks, which earns him a death glare from Jackie.

"Just joking." Matt defends.

"She is the greatest best friend a girl could have." Future Inez answers. "Much like you are to Inez."

"Well, what about me?" Matt questions. "What am I like in the future?"

"I'd be telling you too much if I answered that in full, but I will say this." Future Inez begins. "You will find that special girl and you two will find ultimate happiness. You won't have to look too far for her. In fact, she's closer to you then you know."

Matt gives Future Inez a questionable look.

"You'll figure it out soon enough." Future Inez says with a smile.

"So what happens now?" Inez asks.

"Well from here, I return to my time line while you, Matt, and Jackie are to leave Sector and return to Control Central before time runs out." Future Inez answers. "I came here to stop Hacker from altering history and now that I have, my job here is done. After all, I am you three years from now and if Hacker would have won, the cybersquad would cease to exist in my time line."

A yellow portal now appears.

"Well, this is where I get off." Future Inez says. "See you in the future."

Future Inez now steps through the portal with it immediately closing behind her.

"Wow, that was unexpected." Matt comments.

"I'll say." Jackie agrees. "She didn't even tell me how I was like in the future."

Inez now turns to Sam, who is wearing a sad expression.

"Sam, thanks for everything." Inez softly speaks, now walking up to Sam. "Especially for helping me out. I can't thank you enough."

A smile now crosses Sam's face as he embraces Inez in a hug.

"You are very welcome Inez and please promise me one thing." Sam replies as he loosens his embrace on Inez and takes her hands.

"Sure." Inez agrees.

"Please promise me that you will try to come back and visit me sometime." Sam requests.

"I'll do my best Sam." Inez says with a nod.

"Good-bye Inez." Sam greets.

"Good-bye Sam." Inez greets back.

Placing a small kiss on his cheek, Inez makes her way over to Matt and Jackie. Turning around, Inez waves to Sam. Sam waves back as Inez, Matt and Jackie jump into the vortex. Sam watches as the vortex closes and winks out of existence.

"I'll never forget you Inez." Sam says as he places his hand to his cheek, where Inez kissed him.

Control Central

Matt, Jackie and Inez now arrive back at Control Central. Seeing that the kids have returned brings joy to Dr. Marbles, Motherboard, and Digit. Dr. Marbles now types in a command that closes the vortex.

"Inez, you're back!" Digit cheers as he hugs her.

"It's good to see you too Digit." Inez smiles as he returns the hug.

"I am so glad that you made it back safely Inez." Motherboard greets to Inez with a smile.

"Me too Mother B." Inez replies as her smile now changes to a sad frown. "Too bad Sam couldn't come back with us. He has to stay on Sector while not being surrounded by the people who love him."

"Good." Matt mumbles.

Jackie, having heard Matt's mumble, elbows him.

"I know it's sad that Sam had to stay behind, but that is his home after all." Jackie says with comfort to her best friend. "But look on the bright side, at least you can contact him whenever you want to."

Inez's frown now changes to a small smile

"That is true." Inez agrees.

"Well I, for one, am happy that it's all over and that you are back with us Inez." Matt says as he embraces Inez in a hug.

"Me too Matt." Inez replies, returning the hug. "Me too."

A/N: Ok end of chapter 9 and I hope you all enjoyed it. This is not the end of the story as there is one more chapter left. I know this chapter was long, but battle scenes like that aren't meant to be short. This chapter, like next, will tell a lot about the ending of the story and an announcement that will be made chapter 10, which will be, of course, out next week. No flames please and if something doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll fix it in the editing. If nothing else, please review.

Review Please!